Leaders of Amherst's First Congregational Church pledged Thursday to provide Springfield immigrant Lucio Perez sanctuary from deportation, describing their defiance of federal immigration authorities as a moral requirement of their faith.

"Last night, First Church Amherst opened our doors to Lucio and invited him to take refuge in our building while his appeals play out," said the Rev. Vicki Kemper of First Congregational Church. "This is not an action we take lightly, but at the same time it is an action we feel we must take."

Perez left Guatemala in 1999 to flee violence and seek economic opportunity, the Pioneer Valley Workers Center said in a press release. He married and had children, three of whom are U.S. citizens, and works as a landscaper.

In 2009, he and his wife were stopped by West Hartford police after they briefly left their children in the car to pick up drinks at a Dunkin' Donuts, according to the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and his son Tony. The child abandonment charges were quickly dropped, but the encounter put Perez on ICE's radar.

For the next eight years, Perez lived under an order of removal but was allowed to stay in the country as long as he regularly checked in with immigration authorities, under an Obama-era prioritization system that granted stays to many immigrants who had entered the U.S. illegally but did not otherwise have criminal records.

But President Donald Trump's administration ended that system, and in September Perez was told to buy a plane ticket to Guatemala for Oct. 19 and fitted with an ankle bracelet.

Activists continued to press ICE to grant a stay, receiving support from political leaders including Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jim McGovern, Pioneer Valley Workers Center organizer Rose Bookbinder said Thursday. About 120 supporters rallied outside the building that houses Springfield's U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office; 18 were arrested after sitting down in front of the building and refusing to leave.

ICE denied his motion for a stay Wednesday evening, and that night Perez sought sanctuary at Amherst's First Congregational Church -- a step church leaders had hoped to avoid, but for which they had been preparing for a month.

"I need to make one thing perfectly clear, and that is this. None of us - none of us wants to be here today. None of us wants this day to come," said Kemper. "For months and months, First Church Amherst has been following the law, playing by the rules. We've been signing petitions, attending prayer vigils and demonstrations, learning about demonstration law, training to protect our neighbors and praying without ceasing, all so this day would not come."

Kemper described Lucio as a hard working, taxpaying father who had lived peacefully in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, and who sought to resolve his case through legal appeals.

"Lucio too has tried to do things by the book," Kemper said.

Perez, speaking in Spanish through a translator, described his standoff with immigration authorities as unfair and unjust, and thanked the church and local activists for supporting him and his family.

"I'm not a criminal," Perez said. "I'm here to confront the situation and I hope that you'll help me pray."

Kemper described their invitation to Perez as "open ended," saying he would be welcome for as long as it takes for his pending case before the Board of Immigration Appeals to resolve.

And she expressed hope that ICE would continue to follow a 2011 policy that bars enforcement actions at houses of worship without the personal approval of a high-level official or other exigent circumstances. An ICE spokesman told MassLive that policy is still in effect.

"Immigration authorities up until now have respected the authority and sanctuary of a church building, and we are hoping they will respect that in this case," Kemper said.

ICE now considers Perez a fugitive subject to arrest and removal, ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer said in a statement.

"In exercise of discretion, ICE allowed [Perez] to remain free from custody while finalizing his departure arrangements," Neudauer wrote. "Since Mr. Perez has failed to comply with the judge's order to leave the U.S., he is now an ICE fugitive, and is subject to arrest when encountered."

Perez had 10 misdemeanor convictions in Delaware from 1999 to 2007, primarily for charges like driving without a license, false tags and driving without insurance, ICE said.

The decision to allow Perez to stay in the church and how it would be carried out drew concerns from some church members, Kemper said, though none have expressed outright opposition to her. The church has arranged for someone to stay in the building with Perez each night, and has organized donation drives for food.

"This is a leap of faith, and we are aware that it is a huge step that we have made," she said "It is a challenge for us as church memebrs to walk through this together."

Church leaders also thanked town of Amherst residents and officials for voting to become a Sanctuary Community. The town passed a bylaw in May declaring that town officials would not participate in federal immigration enforcement.